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“Any type of sport you can adapt for a wounded veteran is a life-changing experience. The thing is, when you come back from active duty and come back into civilian life after being wounded, your purpose kind of fades off. You’re not in a good place. But what adaptive sports does, is it gives you a new meaning, new purpose, new beginning, so that’s a big, big tool for re-integration to civilian life and just going out in the world.” - Helman Roman, Freedom Rows’ Rower and 2016 Paralympian (Hear Helman's story)

Welcome to Our Rally Campaign!

Since 2014, USRowing's award-winningFreedom Rows program has provided more than 2,500 disabled veterans and members of the armed services with the opportunity to experience the benefits of the sport ofrowing - and it's changing their lives!

What started as a pilot program in seven cities has grown into an initiative that provides support and funding for 30 programs across the United States.

Our veterans experience the full range of opportunities to be gained from rowing, whether recreationally at their VA sports facility or local club or competing in the Paralympics.

The primary goals of the program include:

Increasing the number of disabled veterans participating and competing in adaptive and para-rowing;

Providing expert training and technical assistance in adaptive rowing to VA adaptive sports program managers, community rowing coaches and instructors, and VA recreational therapists; and

Providing outreach coordination, Paralympic classification of athletes, FISA-certified training of classifiers, adaptive rowing program development, adaptive rowing equipment, evaluation, and other activities related to the implementation and operation of the program.

At the end of September, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs awarded USRowing with its fifth grant through its Grants for Adaptive Sports Programs for Disabled Veterans and Members of the Armed Forces, increasing USRowing's funding in recognition of the work being done in the Freedom Rows programs across the country.

“For me, it was a therapeutic experience,” said Paul Massella, one of many veterans who have taken part in the program at the Delta Sculling Center in Stockton, Calif. "Being out on the water was just so freeing from the confines of my mind. This program is very full of love and compassion. Pat (Tirone) has a heart for sculling, and she uses it as a vehicle to heal and help strengthen people in the community. She’s kind of like a mentor to me.”

While the VA's support is incredible, the Freedom Rows programs have the chance to change more lives and offer more opportunities with increased resources including more coaching stipends, additional equipment and additional travel funding.

Money raised during the USRowing Freedom Rows Rally will be used to:

Provide additional equipment for the 30 current Freedom Rows programs;

Provide travel funding for Freedom Rows' athletes to compete at the events such as the 2018 Head of the Charles, 2019 San Diego Crew Classic (click here for an article on last year's event), 2019 Bayada Regatta, and additional race opportunities;

Increase the number of Freedom Rows' outreach events to introduce the sport and provide expert instruction to a greater number of disabled veterans; and

Develop Freedom Rows programs in additional cities and VA hospitals.

In addition to the 30 Freedom Rows programs, USRowing also conducts outreach efforts at other VA hospitals and through Valor Games, Invictus Games, Wounded Warrior events, and other disabled sports events throughout the country.

Join Our Team and Spread the Word!

Please chip in whatever you can to support those who have given so much to our country. Your donation will have a direct benefit toward the success of Freedom Rows, and through that, the well-being of our veterans.

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